For this blog post I have decided to take a look at the talk sections of three Wikipedia pages related to Norse mythology. According to the Wikipedia page for Norse Mythology it is, “…the body of mythology of the North Germanic people stemming from Norse paganism and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia and into the Scandinavian folklore of the modern period.” The three chosen pages are those of Odin, Thor, and the Æsir. While most people will surely recognize the names of Odin and Thor, I’m sure there are many who do not know the mythology that surrounds them and the characters from popular comic book adaptions of these pagan gods. Furthermore, I am sure that if there are individuals who do not know much about Thor and Odin they almost certainly do not know, or do not realize, that they belong to the Æsir, which is essentially the race of gods that make of the main pantheon of the mythology.
With some background on the subject material that is covered in these pages, one must also understand how the review and editing process for Wikipedia works to fully understand this post. Though many people are ready to point out that anyone can edit Wikipedia, many people do not know that there are numerous moderators and other individuals who review and fix the material that is put on the various pages. One of the main driving forces, which could be likened to peer review for the site, that decides what changes and remains on a Wikipedia pages is the talk page. At the top of every page there are two tabs: the “Article” tab and the “Talk” tab. It is in this talk tab where issues are raised with various sections of a page and suggestions are made for changes or expansion on a section. As for the actual things discussed in the talk pages for these three things there are some distinct similarities from page to page.
One constant in almost every Wikipedia page is the call for more citations, or merely citations at all if a section lacks them, which helps to dispel a fair amount of what the naysayers of Wikipedia really push as to why Wikipedia is a blight on historical writing. For example, on the Odin page there is a section that has been deleted that refers to Santa Claus as a possible basis for Santa Claus. Within the section detailing why it was deleted the individual is asking for access to a book that is cited and states that this “semi-fringe myth” just simply does not have enough backing to remain on the page at the moment. Another topic often raised in talk pages is how a topic is viewed in the modern day or how modern culture makes references to the topic. On the Thor page for example there are numerous discussion concerning references to Thor in the modern day ranging from the Marvel Comics character, to the Neil Gaiman book American Gods, and to the concept album Twilight of the Thunder God by the band Amon Amarth. In addition to this there are also references to modern Norse paganism and whether or not pagans of the past would wear a Mjölnir pendant, as modern some Norse pagans wear them in a similar manner as Christians wear a cross or crucifix. Finally, on the Æsir page there are numerous questions about technical aspects of the name of the topic itself such as correct pronunciation, translation, and the roots of the term itself. These technical questions and issues often come up in a Wikipedia talk page as individuals work to create the most technically correct and factually based pages as possible as they come together behind the scenes to make Wikipedia a neutral and informative website available for all with internet access.
P.S. – Interested in more music? Listen to the title track from Twilight of the Thunder God by Amon Amarth.
Lincoln Loves Cats 